Assessing the Effectiveness of International Courts

by Yuval Shany

Overview

Are international courts effective tools for international governance? Do they fulfill the expectations that led to their creation and empowerment? Why do some courts appear to be more effective than others, and do so such appearances reflect reality? Could their results have been produced by other mechanisms? This book evaluates the effectiveness of international courts and tribunals by comparing their stated goals to the actual outcomes they achieve. Using a theoretical model borrowed from social science, the book assesses their effectiveness by analysing key empirical data.

Its first part is dedicated to theory and methodology, laying out the effectiveness model, explaining its different components, its promise and limits, and discussing the measurement challenges it faces. The second part analyses the role that indicators such as jurisdiction, judicial independence, legitimacy, and compliance play in achieving effectiveness. Part three applies the effectiveness model to the International Court of Justice, the WTO dispute settlement mechanisms (panels and Appellate Body), the International Criminal Court, the European Court of Human Rights, and the European Court of Justice, reflecting the diversity of the field of international adjudication. Given the recent proliferation of international courts and tribunals, this book makes an important contribution towards understanding and measuring the value that these institutions provide.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199643295
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	03/30/2014
Series:	International Courts and Tribunals Series
Pages:	344
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Yuval Shany, Hersch Lauterpacht Chair in Public International Law, Hebrew University, Jerusalem

Professor Yuval Shany is the Hersch Lauterpacht Chair in International Law at the Law Faculty of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He also serves currently as the academic director of the Minerva Center for Human Rights, a director in the International Law Forum at the Hebrew University, and the Project on International Courts and Tribunals (PICT) and a member of the steering committee of the DOMAC project (assessing the impact of international courts on domestic criminal procedures in mass atrocity cases). Shany has degrees in law from the Hebrew University (LL.B, 1995 cum laude), New York University (LL.M., 1997), and the University of London (Ph.D., 2001) and he has published a number of books and articles on international courts and arbitration tribunals and other international law issues such as international human rights and international humanitarian law.

Table of Contents

IntroductionPart I: The Goal-Based Approach1. The Effectiveness Model2. The Goals of International Courts3. Measuring Goal-AttainmentPart II: Application of the Goal-Based Approach to Judicial Functions and Features4. Jurisdictional Powers5. Judicial Independence and Impartiality6. Judicial Legitimacy7. Norm Compliance8. Contextual FactorsPart III: Application of the Goal-Based Approach to Specific Courts9. International Court of Justice, Yuval Shany and Rotem Giladi10. WTO Dispute Settlement Mechanism, Yuval Shany and Sivan Shlomo11. International Criminal Tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda, Yuval Shany and Gilad Noam, Erin Gray-Goldbarsht, and Sigall Horovitz12. European Court of Human Rights, Yuval Shany and Gilad Noam13. European Court of Justice, Yuval Shany and Thorbjorn BjornssonConclusions

Editorial Reviews

"A critical insight that Shany's book offers is that traditional definitions of effectiveness in the literature of international law contain an "Achilles heel". Indeed, Shany exposes the weaknesses of traditional-monolithic-effectiveness analyses by encouraging us to zoom in on the context and nuances that those traditional indicators hide." -Laurence Boisson de Chazournes, American Journal of International Law

From the Publisher